(a) Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of automobile, and in particular a hatchback having an assisting ejection device for the hatch to facilitates opening operation of the hatch and extension of the service life of the hatch mechanism.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
A hatchback is an automobile having a cargo space integrated with a passenger cabin and is accessed through a hatch or a flip-up window. The cargo space of the hatchback is different from that of a truck and must be accessed by flipping upward the hatch that is hinged to a frame of a tail gate of the automobile.
FIGS. 1 and 2 of the attached drawings illustrate a hatchback having a hatch, designated at 1, having an upper edge pivotally connected to a tail gate frame 11 of the hatchback by hinges 12. Two pneumatic cylinders 13 are arranged on opposite sides of the hatch 1 and have opposite ends pivoted to opposing portions of the hatch 1 and the rail gate frame 11. A lock 14 is arranged at a lower edge of the hatch 1 and is releasably engageable with a hook 15 provided on the rail gate frame 11 to selectively secure the hatch 1 to the tail gate frame 11. The lock 14 can be disengaged from the hook 15 to release the hatch 1 and the pneumatic cylinders 13 eject and force the hatch 1 away from the frame 11 to thereby flip the hatch upward. Dampers 16 are often provided between the hatch 1 and the frame 11. The dampers 16 are made of resilient material or having a resilient function. The steel plate 17 that constitutes the frame 11 is machined to form slots 18 in which the dampers 16 are received and retained. The dampers 16 serve to absorb the shock and impact induced when the hatch 1 is brought into contact with the frame 11 in closing the hatch 1.
The conventional arrangement of the hatch, however, suffers insufficient driving force provided by the pneumatic cylinders 13 to flip the hatch 1 up when the automobile has been used for a long time and parts of the automobile are thus subject to aging problems. The aging of the pneumatic cylinders 13 reduce the driving force acting upon the hatch 1 so that when the lock 14 is released, the hatch 1 cannot automatically move away from the frame 11 and manually flipping the hatch 1 has to be carried out.
Although the pneumatic cylinders 13, as being regular mechanical parts, are subject to limitation of service life, which is determined not only by the nature of the pneumatic cylinders 13 themselves, but also the operation cycle thereof. Excessive numbers and load of opening/closing the hatch 1 often leads to reduced life span of the hatch 1. Thus, the present invention is aimed to extend the service life of the hatch by reducing the load applied to the pneumatic cylinders.